Anti-immigration party registers for B.C. vote
Emboldened by growing anti-immigration sentiment in the U.S. and Europe, a B.C. man has registered a political party devoted to “Canada’s traditional identity” in advance of the provincial election.
Elections B.C. confirmed the Cultural Action Party registered Oct. 7.
The party’s platform promises to promote English and French culture, adjust immigration and refugee policy and hold a referendum to determine public opinion on repealing the multiculturalism act.
In an interview with Postmedia on Friday, party founder Brad Salzberg said CAP’s views are “in growth mode” both at home and abroad.
“It’s developing, it’s coming into the mainstream (and) it’s coming into the political narrative,” he said.
Salzberg pointed to the rise of both Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (whom he doesn’t like) and extreme right-wing parties in Europe to demonstrate that many people are done with “political correctness.”
He then railed against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before turning his attention to more local issues like housing affordability and foreign real estate investment.
While Salzberg wouldn’t reveal his campaign budget, he said he isn’t a one-man show, but has a “core group” of about a dozen volunteers. He has 6,000 social-media supporters across the country.
Reconciliation advocate Bill Chu said he believes North America has “caught the virus from Europe” and intolerance is being preached by more politicians.
For the founder of the Canadians for Reconciliation Society, it’s a sign Canadians need to be better educated about the impact of colonialism and the false idea that anyone not of European descent is an outsider.
“These ideas are still in the mainstream,” said Chu. “You don’t have to be outrageously and openly racist to hold these views.”
Salzberg has been in the media several times over the last decade, campaigning against Chinese-only signs and Chinese investment in real estate. He was dismissed from Putting Canada First, a group against mass immigration, after a South China Morning Post article alleged he had used aliases in a campaign attacking Vancouver mayoral candidate Meena Wong.
Saltzberg often puts out news releases arguing against the influence of Chinese culture and Chinese-Canadian figures in B.C. In 2014, he led a campaign to get a well-known University of B.C. history professor fired. Dr. Henry Yu has lectured and written about politics and racism in B.C.